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| THE 5TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 19 June, 2005 The Rev. Robert C. Granfeldt |
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Oh, my! “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will
rise up against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my
name’s sake.”
These verses have always been a problem to me. We’ve heard, in recent weeks, Jesus
sending out his disciples to represent him, and his instructions for towns, villages, homes
that reject their message – telling them to walk away, wiping the dust from those places
from their feet; and describing what will be in store for them in the end time.
But here, things are stepped up a bit; quite a bit, in fact.
The discontinuity between what went before and what comes after is too much. And that
discontinuity leads me to think these verses fall under the heading of, “It ain’t necessarily
so…” The words are just a bit much, coming from Jesus’ mouth, and most likely it shows
the reflections of later years, when the persecutions became more severe, and those
early Christians needed to be more heroic than Jesus had anticipated! It’s a matter of the
writers of the stories that became the Gospels reading back into Jesus’ words the reality
the Christians faced much later! So these verses are not so much about Jesus as they are
about the travails of his followers in the years of persecution, after his death!
Jeremiah, on the other hand, is a man after my own heart!
Jeremiah predated Jesus by over 6 hundred years, coming in a transitional period in the
history of the Hebrew people and of the development of Judaism. In fact he was, himself,
a transitional figure in the change from the “preaching prophets” before the Fall of Judah,
to the “writing prophets” who came after!
Jeremiah warns about, and finally sees, the collapse of Judah, the fall of Jerusalem, and
the beginning of the Babylonian exile that would be so formative of the emerging religion
of Judaism, and in his prophetic ministry during that “interesting time,” he is charged with
being both a heretic and a traitor! And he might actually have been those things…, if he
hadn’t been so right! It’s a fascinating time, and a fascinating ministry.
But I’ve always been most fascinated by Jeremiah, himself, and his transformation from
the “reluctant prophet” into one of the heroes of the faith!
The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah begins with the youth, Jeremiah, experiencing the call
of the Lord to speak for him, to prophecy. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you: I appointed you a prophet to the nations,”
says the Lord. And the young Jeremiah replies, “Ah, Lord God! Behold I do not know how
to speak, for I am only a youth.”
But the Lord prevails, putting forth his hand and touching his mouth, saying, “Behold, I
have put my words in your mouth,” and sends him out to prophecy despite his youth!
And now, in today’s reading from the 20th chapter of Jeremiah, we find the seasoned
prophet of the Lord – but a prophet who is his own man, and who borders on blasphemy
as he accuses the Lord of deception, of forcing him to prophecy; rebelling even to the
point of swearing no longer to obey the Lord’s call; swearing never more even to say his
name!
And yet…! And yet…!
And yet, try as he might to turn his back on the Lord, try as he might to seal his lips, he
cannot! “If I say, ‘I will not mention the Lord, or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my
heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in, and I
cannot!”
A burning fire shut up in my bones! What a wonderful image! And what a wonderful picture
of what it’s like to be caught up in the knowledge of the Lord, to be swept up in the power
of his love! To come face to face with the knowledge that the Lord Is God, and that he
cannot be denied!
Passion like that is not for ancient Hebrew prophets, only. It is for everyone who knows
the Lord!
As I do. As you do!
Episcopalians are so well known for being tight lipped and silent when it comes to
speaking about their faith! We’ve even been called “God’s frozen people!” But I’ve never
quite known why!
It may be, in part, the example of so many others we see who are so quick to proclaim,
given half a chance, that they are Christians; so quick to speak out about what to us
seems so private a thing.
And yet…; and yet… The faith is there! The faith runs deep in God’s people. And, in fact,
there is, in our hearts, I know – in your heart as in mine – that “burning fire shut up in
(our) bones”. If we would just look there – in our hearts- and let the fire burn! We would
soon grow tired of holding it in, like Jeremiah, and find we can’t!
Jeremiah is one of the great figures in the history of our faith – because of his words, his
deeds, his proclamation. But he seems to me one of the great heroes of the faith because
he’s so much like us: reluctant to speak; reluctant to reveal ourselves – until he finds the
love and the truth of God burning so hotly within himself that he can’t hold it in any longer
– that he Has to let it out!
We live in interesting times – like Jeremiah! The times grow more interesting, all the time,
and more dangerous – like the times of Jeremiah. And the imperative grows, and the
choice looms – as in Jeremiah’s life!
The choice between remaining silent, like those who lived in Jeremiah’s day, watching the
doom that was coming upon the people – or speaking out, proclaiming the faith inside,
that burning fire shut up in our bones, that the word of God may be clearly heard in the
land!
The choice, as in Jeremiah, and as always, is ours. Will we find that fire, and let it blaze?
Or will we squelch it – and let it die! The Lord calls his people, today, as clearly as he
called Jeremiah, 25 centuries ago. The question, today, is: who will answer the Call?
In Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
rise up against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my
name’s sake.”
These verses have always been a problem to me. We’ve heard, in recent weeks, Jesus
sending out his disciples to represent him, and his instructions for towns, villages, homes
that reject their message – telling them to walk away, wiping the dust from those places
from their feet; and describing what will be in store for them in the end time.
But here, things are stepped up a bit; quite a bit, in fact.
The discontinuity between what went before and what comes after is too much. And that
discontinuity leads me to think these verses fall under the heading of, “It ain’t necessarily
so…” The words are just a bit much, coming from Jesus’ mouth, and most likely it shows
the reflections of later years, when the persecutions became more severe, and those
early Christians needed to be more heroic than Jesus had anticipated! It’s a matter of the
writers of the stories that became the Gospels reading back into Jesus’ words the reality
the Christians faced much later! So these verses are not so much about Jesus as they are
about the travails of his followers in the years of persecution, after his death!
Jeremiah, on the other hand, is a man after my own heart!
Jeremiah predated Jesus by over 6 hundred years, coming in a transitional period in the
history of the Hebrew people and of the development of Judaism. In fact he was, himself,
a transitional figure in the change from the “preaching prophets” before the Fall of Judah,
to the “writing prophets” who came after!
Jeremiah warns about, and finally sees, the collapse of Judah, the fall of Jerusalem, and
the beginning of the Babylonian exile that would be so formative of the emerging religion
of Judaism, and in his prophetic ministry during that “interesting time,” he is charged with
being both a heretic and a traitor! And he might actually have been those things…, if he
hadn’t been so right! It’s a fascinating time, and a fascinating ministry.
But I’ve always been most fascinated by Jeremiah, himself, and his transformation from
the “reluctant prophet” into one of the heroes of the faith!
The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah begins with the youth, Jeremiah, experiencing the call
of the Lord to speak for him, to prophecy. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you: I appointed you a prophet to the nations,”
says the Lord. And the young Jeremiah replies, “Ah, Lord God! Behold I do not know how
to speak, for I am only a youth.”
But the Lord prevails, putting forth his hand and touching his mouth, saying, “Behold, I
have put my words in your mouth,” and sends him out to prophecy despite his youth!
And now, in today’s reading from the 20th chapter of Jeremiah, we find the seasoned
prophet of the Lord – but a prophet who is his own man, and who borders on blasphemy
as he accuses the Lord of deception, of forcing him to prophecy; rebelling even to the
point of swearing no longer to obey the Lord’s call; swearing never more even to say his
name!
And yet…! And yet…!
And yet, try as he might to turn his back on the Lord, try as he might to seal his lips, he
cannot! “If I say, ‘I will not mention the Lord, or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my
heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in, and I
cannot!”
A burning fire shut up in my bones! What a wonderful image! And what a wonderful picture
of what it’s like to be caught up in the knowledge of the Lord, to be swept up in the power
of his love! To come face to face with the knowledge that the Lord Is God, and that he
cannot be denied!
Passion like that is not for ancient Hebrew prophets, only. It is for everyone who knows
the Lord!
As I do. As you do!
Episcopalians are so well known for being tight lipped and silent when it comes to
speaking about their faith! We’ve even been called “God’s frozen people!” But I’ve never
quite known why!
It may be, in part, the example of so many others we see who are so quick to proclaim,
given half a chance, that they are Christians; so quick to speak out about what to us
seems so private a thing.
And yet…; and yet… The faith is there! The faith runs deep in God’s people. And, in fact,
there is, in our hearts, I know – in your heart as in mine – that “burning fire shut up in
(our) bones”. If we would just look there – in our hearts- and let the fire burn! We would
soon grow tired of holding it in, like Jeremiah, and find we can’t!
Jeremiah is one of the great figures in the history of our faith – because of his words, his
deeds, his proclamation. But he seems to me one of the great heroes of the faith because
he’s so much like us: reluctant to speak; reluctant to reveal ourselves – until he finds the
love and the truth of God burning so hotly within himself that he can’t hold it in any longer
– that he Has to let it out!
We live in interesting times – like Jeremiah! The times grow more interesting, all the time,
and more dangerous – like the times of Jeremiah. And the imperative grows, and the
choice looms – as in Jeremiah’s life!
The choice between remaining silent, like those who lived in Jeremiah’s day, watching the
doom that was coming upon the people – or speaking out, proclaiming the faith inside,
that burning fire shut up in our bones, that the word of God may be clearly heard in the
land!
The choice, as in Jeremiah, and as always, is ours. Will we find that fire, and let it blaze?
Or will we squelch it – and let it die! The Lord calls his people, today, as clearly as he
called Jeremiah, 25 centuries ago. The question, today, is: who will answer the Call?
In Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
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| Calvary Episcopal Church, Rockdale |
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